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The Rugrats Movie

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This article is about the 1998 film. For the video game, see The Rugrats Movie (video game). For other films, see Rugrats (film series).

The Rugrats Movie
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
Based onRugrats
by Arlene Klasky
Gábor Csupó
Paul Germain
Produced by
  • Arlene Klasky
  • Gábor Csupó
Starring
Edited by
  • John Bryant
  • Kimberly Rettberg
Music byMark Mothersbaugh[1]
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • November 20, 1998 (1998-11-20) (United States)
Running time
80 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$24 million
Box office$140.8 million

The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated comedy film[1] based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem.[3] The film features the voices of E. G. Daily, Tara Strong, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Michael Bell and Joe Alaskey, along with guest stars David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho, Busta Rhymes, and Tim Curry. The film takes place between the events of the series' fifth and sixth seasons, and it follows Tommy Pickles as he and the rest of the Rugrats along with his new baby brother, Dil, eventually get lost into the deep wilderness after taking a high-speed ride on the Reptar Wagon, and embark on an adventure to find their way home in the forest while being pursued by circus monkeys and a predatory wolf along the way. The Rugrats Movie is the first feature film based on a Nicktoon and the first installment in the Rugrats film series.

Plans for a Rugrats film adaptation, along with Ren and Stimpy and Doug, began when Nickelodeon made a contract with 20th Century Fox to produce them.[4] However, the contract ended after Nickelodeon's parent company, Viacom purchased Paramount Pictures' parent company Paramount Communications in 1994.[5] Production then began in 1995 after the television series had restarted after a small hiatus.

The Rugrats Movie was released in the United States on November 20, 1998.[1] The film received generally positive reviews from critics, though some criticized its darker tone compared to the television series. The film was a box office success, opening at #1 and grossing a total of $141 million worldwide. It became the first non-Disney animated film to gross over $100 million in the United States.[6]

The film was followed by two sequels: Rugrats in Paris: The Movie in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys.

Plot

[edit]

Didi Pickles is pregnant with her second baby, which makes her son Tommy worry how that will change the family dynamic. The birth comes unexpectedly early, and Didi gives birth to a boy named Dil. Upon bringing him home, she and her husband Stu struggle to cope with Dil's constant outbursts. Tommy finds his new brother hard to get along with, but Stu assures him that one day, he will be happy to have Dil in the family, and Tommy accepts his newfound responsibility as an older brother.

With Dil still causing problems at the Pickles' home, Phil and Lil suggest using the Reptar Wagon Stu has built for a toy contest in Japan to take him back to the hospital. As Tommy and Chuckie argue with Phil and Lil, Angelica walks in, telling the babies to be quiet. In the process, Dil snatches her Cynthia doll from her. She fights Dil to get the doll back and accidentally kicks the Reptar wagon, which begins to drive away with the babies on board. They speed recklessly through the streets and land in the back of a van, which crashes in the woods. Angelica shows no concern until she finds out that the babies have taken her Cynthia doll, which prompts her to take the family dog, Spike, to find them and retrieve Cynthia.

Tommy leads the babies toward a ranger's cabin, believing it to be the home of a magic "lizard" (a mispronunciation of wizard) who can grant their wish to go home. On the way, they encounter monkeys who hijacked a crashed circus train. They kidnap Dil, and Tommy's friends refuse to help rescue him, believing they are better off without him. Tommy sets off after his brother alone. Meanwhile, the family discovers the babies are missing and set out to find them in the face of the media sensation that has suddenly generated around their children's disappearance. Drew and Charlotte arrive and Drew learns from Rex Pester that his brother lost Angelica, causing Drew to attack Stu.

Tommy eventually finds Dil during a storm, but as he struggles to take care of him, Dil continues acting selfishly. Tommy loses his temper and prepares to pour Mash Banana Baby food onto Dil for the monkeys to take him again, but his rage and the storm scares Dil into ending his behavior and his tears cause Tommy to calm down, and the brothers begin bonding. After the storm passes, they reunite with Phil, Lil, and Chuckie, who, upon having a change of heart, stop the monkeys from trying to take away Tommy and Dil. Angelica recovers her Cynthia doll and reunites with the babies. As they start to cross a damaged bridge, Angelica falls out of the Reptar wagon and hangs through a gap in the bridge above a raging river. They are confronted by the monkeys, only to be scared off by a humungous wolf named Scar Snout, who attempts to attack the babies until Spike intervenes and fights the wolf, sacrificing himself in the process.

Stu, looking for the babies in a pterodactyl-like glider, sees them from above and crash lands into the ranger's cabin. Believing he is the "lizard," the babies ask him to bring Spike back instead of going home. Stu falls through the bridge and reveals Spike, who survived the fall by landing in the struts of the bridge. The children are reunited with their parents and return home. The film ends with the babies going on an Indiana Jones-parodied adventure, but this time with Dil, having fully accepted him into the group.

Voice cast

[edit]
Main article: List of Rugrats characters

Main

[edit]

Guest

[edit]

Baby singers

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Talks about making Rugrats into a feature film existed since the beginning of the series. The first attempt was in May 1993, when Nickelodeon made a two-year contract deal with 20th Century Fox to produce new material, but an unnamed Nickelodeon executive did not rule out the possibility to make films based on their existing properties, one of those that was proposed was Rugrats, alongside Doug and The Ren & Stimpy Show.[7][8][4][9] However, in February 1994, Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom acquired Paramount Pictures,[10] and Paramount would distribute the films instead. As a result, the contract from Fox expired, with no films produced (although Doug would eventually receive a theatrical film from Walt Disney Pictures in 1999). Production on The Rugrats Movie started a year later in November 1995.[11] The film's voice actors began recording their parts for the movie in late March 1997.[12]

Two months before the release of the movie, an episode prequel titled "The Family Tree" was aired as the penultimate episode of the fifth season. The film's beginning and ending parody Paramount and Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones film series. This later inspired the episode "Okey-Dokey Jones and the Ring of the Sunbeams", which aired during the show's eighth season in 2002.

This film was the first Rugrats production to use digital ink and paint, rather than the traditional cel animation used in the show.

Two songs were cut from the film during production. The first revolves around Stu and Didi in a nightmare sequence where Dr. Lipschitz criticizes their parenting through a song called "When the Baby Cries". The second depicts the Rugrats pushing the Reptar Wagon through the woods, debating what to do about Dil in an army chant style song. These two scenes were cut from the theatrical, VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, Blu-ray, and Paramount+ releases. However, these scenes are shown on CBS and Nickelodeon television airings of the film.[13] These scenes were also present in the print novelization.

The film was released in theaters with a CatDog short titled "Fetch".[14] This short was later broadcast in CatDog episode 21. However, the VHS, DVD, Laserdisc, and Blu-ray releases contain a different CatDog short from episode 28 titled "Winslow's Home Videos".

Media

[edit]

Home media

[edit]

The Rugrats Movie was released on VHS and DVD on March 30, 1999, by Paramount Home Video. The film was also released on Laserdisc on the same day by Pioneer Entertainment. On March 15, 2011, the film was re-released in a three-disc trilogy DVD set alongside its sequels, in honor of Rugrats' 20th anniversary.[15] In addition, it was re-released in some movie sets by Paramount, in 2016 with all the non-sequel Nickelodeon-animated movies up to Barnyard, as well as a separate 2-disc set with Hey Arnold!: The Movie.[16] The film was released on Blu-ray on March 8, 2022, in a trilogy set alongside its sequels.[17][18]

Soundtrack

[edit]
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedNovember 3, 1998
Recorded1998
GenreR&B, hip hop, pop
Length41:51
LabelInterscope, Nickelodeon
Rugrats soundtrack chronology
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture
(1998) 		Rugrats in Paris: Music from the Motion Picture
(2000)
Singles from The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture
  1. "Take Me There"
    Released: February 2, 1999
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link[dead link‍]
Entertainment WeeklyC link

The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture was released by Interscope Records on November 3, 1998.[19] The enhanced soundtrack contains thirteen tracks, bonus CD-ROM demos, and commercials.[19]

Longtime Rugrats composer Mark Mothersbaugh composed the film's musical score. A new track by English rock musician David Bowie, "(Safe in This) Sky Life", was written for the film's soundtrack but was ultimately removed. The track was re-recorded as a B-side for Bowie's 2002 single "Everyone Says 'Hi'", under the title "Safe".[20]

Amazon.com's Richard Gehr praised the CD for "[bridging] demographics as nimbly as the [original] show itself [did]" and for songs "fans of all ages will love".[19] Entertainment Weekly's David Browne rated the Music From the Motion Picture with a C.[21] Browne noted that, while the soundtrack is enjoyable for children and does "[make] concessions" for parents, adults may dislike the amount of rap.[21] Allmusic's William Ruhlmann reviewed the soundtrack positively, saying "the result" of the singers and songs "is a romp in keeping with the tone of the show and the film".[22]

The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Motion Picture spent twenty six weeks on Billboard 200, peaking at #19.[23]

In honor of its twentieth anniversary, the film's soundtrack was released on vinyl on November 30, 2018.[24]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Take Me There"Blackstreet and Mýa featuring Mase and Blinky Blink4:02
2."I Throw My Toys Around"No Doubt featuring Elvis Costello3:02
3."This World Is Something New to Me"Dawn Robinson, Lisa Loeb, B-Real, Patti Smith, Lou Rawls, Laurie Anderson, Gordon Gano, Fred Schneider, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson, Phife Dawg, Lenny Kravitz, Beck, Jakob Dylan and Iggy Pop1:59
4."All Day"Lisa Loeb3:30
5."Dil-A-Bye"E.G. Daily (with Dialogue by Tara Strong)3:43
6."A Baby is a Gift from a Bob"Cree Summer & Cheryl Chase1:57
7."One Way or Another"Cheryl Chase3:17
8."Wild Ride"Kevi featuring Lisa Stone2:43
9."On Your Marks, Get Set, Ready, Go!"Busta Rhymes3:41
10."Witch Doctor"Devo3:33
11."Take the Train"Rakim and Danny Saber4:05
12."Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Yum"E.G. Daily, Christine Cavanaugh & Kath Soucie2:18
Total length:41:51
Japanese edition bonus track[25]
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
13."Winter's Review"Shazna5:25

Video games

[edit]

A side-scrolling video game titled The Rugrats Movie was released for Game Boy and Game Boy Color in 1998 and 1999 respectively. It was developed by Software Creations and released by THQ.[26][27] Broderbund also developed and published a video game based on the film: The Rugrats Movie: Activity Challenge. It was released in September 1998, as part of the film's marketing campaign.[28][29][30]

Books

[edit]

Several books were released by Simon & Schuster's Simon Spotlight branch and Nickelodeon inspired by The Rugrats Movie. Tommy's New Playmate and The Rugrats Versus the Monkeys were also released on October 1, 1998, authored by Luke David and illustrated by John Kurtz and Sandrina Kurtz.[31][32]

The Rugrats Movie Storybook, released on the same date and using the same illustrators and publishers, was written by Sarah Wilson.[33] The same date saw the release of The Rugrats Movie: Hang On To Your Diapies, Babies, We're Going In!: Trivia from the Hit Movie!, a trivia book written by Kitty Richards.[34]

A novelization of the film written by Cathy East Dubowski was published on October 1, 1998, by Tandem Library.[35] The following month, a 144-page guidebook, The Making of The Rugrats Movie: Behind the Scenes at Klasky Csupo, was released on November 1, 1998, by MSG.[36] In May 1999, Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation released a book titled The Rugrats Movie.[37]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

The film was released on November 20, 1998, and made $27.3 million in its opening weekend,[38] from 2,782 theaters, averaging about $9,821 per venue and ranking number one that weekend, beating Enemy of the State.[39][40] It would be overtaken by A Bug's Life during its second weekend.[41] The film closed April 4, 1999 in total, The Rugrats Movie made $140.9 million; $100.5 million from the domestic market and $40.4 million from its foreign release.[38]

The film was released in the United Kingdom on March 26, 1999, and topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being dethroned by The Faculty.[42][43][44][39]

Critical reception

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, The Rugrats Movie holds an approval rating of 59% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Charming characters; loads of fun for kids and adults."[45] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[46]

Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four.[47] Ebert wrote that the film's target audience was primarily younger children, and that, while he as an adult disliked it, he "might have" liked it if he were younger and would recommend it for children.[47] The New York Times's Anita Gates reviewed The Rugrats Movie positively, calling it a "delight".[48] Neil Jeffries of Empire gave the film three out of five stars, saying, "Fun for kids, but, despite some adult references, appeal for the over 10s is limited."[49]

Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly graded the film with a B.[50] Schwarzbaum praised the movie for its appeal to both adult and child audiences, "juxtaposing the blithely self-absorbed parallel universes of small, diapered children and their large, Dockered parents".[50] However, other Entertainment Weekly reviewer Ty Burr gave The Rugrats Movie a B−, criticizing that the film's issues sprung from it being "bigger" than the original series, thus it's having more cultural references, out-of-place CGI scenes, and "[going] into scary territory".[51] Burr did praise the "escaped circus monkeys" for being "scary in a good way", as well as a joke that was accessible to younger audiences.[51]

Rugrats co-creator/co-writer Paul Germain (who, along with the other original writers, left the series in 1993) has stated that he felt that the film's writers did not understand what the series was about, and he thought that the scene in which Stu gives a watch to Tommy did not work, as the adults were not supposed to recognize the babies' intelligence. In addition, he disliked that Tommy was given a baby brother, because it changed the series from what he intended it to be.[52]

Nell Minow of Common Sense Media gave the film three stars out of five, saying that it was "'90s animated tale has some cartoon violence, peril."[53]

Sequels

[edit]

The film was followed by the sequels Rugrats in Paris: The Movie in 2000 and Rugrats Go Wild in 2003, the latter of which is a crossover with The Wild Thornberrys.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f "Detail view of Movies Page". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "The Rugrats Movie (U)". British Board of Film Classification. December 16, 1998. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
  3. ^ "The Rugrats Movie". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Toledo Blade – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Viacom takes over Paramount". Variety. March 14, 1994. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "THE RUGRATS MOVIE has hit $100 million".
  7. ^ "The Rugrats Movie". rottentomatoes.com. November 20, 1998. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  8. ^ "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search".
  9. ^ Catherine Hinman (May 19, 1993). "Nickelodeon Adds Movies To Its Credits". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
  10. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (February 15, 1994). "Executives Say That Viacom Has Won Paramount Battle". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Graham, Jefferson (November 8, 1995). "'Rugrats' matures into Nickelodeon hit". USA Today. Retrieved December 25, 2023.
  12. ^ "And I Get Paid!?!: The Life of a Voice Actor".
  13. ^ christophernguyen726 (March 17, 2019). "The Rugrats Movie: DVD Vs. CBS Television Broadcast". Bootleg Comparisons. Retrieved April 9, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "The Rugrats Movie". The Sacramento Bee. December 31, 1998. p. 63.
  15. ^ "Rugrats Trilogy Movie Collection". Amazon. March 15, 2011.
  16. ^ Goldstein, Seth (January 23, 1999). "Paramount Preps For 'Rugrats' Vid". Billboard. p. 6. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  17. ^ "Paramount to Release 'The Rugrats Trilogy Movie Collection' on Blu-ray on March 8". Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  18. ^ "Rugrats Trilogy Movie Collection". Amazon.
  19. ^ a b c "The Rugrats Movie: Music From The Motion Picture [Enhanced CD] [ENHANCED] [SOUNDTRACK]". Amazon. May 15, 1998. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  20. ^ "The Complete David Bowie" by Nicholas Pegg, ISBN 1-903111-40-4 (p.151)
  21. ^ a b Browne, David (January 8, 1999). "The Rugrats Movie: Music From the Motion Picture (1998)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2009.
  22. ^ "Rugrats: The Movie Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2009.[dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Rugrats: The Movie – Original..." Billboard.com. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  24. ^ "'The Rugrats Movie' Soundtrack is Getting a 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Vinyl Release". Complex. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  25. ^ "The Rugrats Movie Soundtrack". HMV Japan. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  26. ^ "The Rugrats Movie". MobyGames. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  27. ^ "Rugrats: The Movie". IGN. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  28. ^ "Rugrats crawl onto computers". Animation World Network. September 30, 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  29. ^ "Three New Titles for 'Rugrats' Fans". Staten Island Advance. October 11, 1998. Retrieved May 24, 2020 – via NewsLibrary.
  30. ^ "The Rugrats Movie: Activity Challenge". MobyGames. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  31. ^ David, Luke (1998). The Rugrats Movie Tommys New Playmate (The Rugrats Movie 8 X 8) (Paperback). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon. ISBN 0689821417.
  32. ^ David, Luke (1998). The Rugrats Movie: The Rugrats Versus the Monkeys (The Rugrats Movie 8 X 8) (Paperback). Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon. ISBN 0689821425.
  33. ^ Willson, Sarah (1998). The Rugrats Movie Storybook (Paperback). ISBN 068982128X.
  34. ^ Richards, Kitty (1998). Rugrats Movie, The: Hang On To Your Diapies, Babies, We're Going In!: Trivia from the Hit Movie! (Paperback). Simon Spotlight. ISBN 0689822766.
  35. ^ Dubowski, Cathy East; Dubowski, Mark (October 1998). Rugrats Movie (Hardcover). Turtleback. ISBN 0613872681.
  36. ^ The making of the Rugrats movie : behind the scenes at Klasky Csupo. OCLC 040590978 – via worldcat.org.
  37. ^ The Rugrats Movie (Paperback). May 1999. ISBN 0634005146.
  38. ^ a b "THE RUGRATS MOVIE". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  39. ^ a b Welkos, Robert W. (November 24, 1998). "Weekend Box Office : 'Rugrats' Has Kid Power". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  40. ^ FABRIKANT, Geraldine (December 28, 1998). "'Prince of Egypt' Is No King at the Box-Office". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  41. ^ Hinckley, David (November 30, 1998). "Disney's lovable bugs bring home the bacon". Daily News Staff Writer. Daily News. p. 426. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  42. ^ "Weekend box office 26th March 1999 - 28th March 1999". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  43. ^ "Weekend box office 2nd April 1999 - 4th April 1999". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  44. ^ "Weekend box office 9th April 1999 - 11th April 1999". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  45. ^ "The Rugrats Movie (1998)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 6, 2021. Edit this at Wikidata
  46. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Rugrats" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  47. ^ a b Ebert, Roger. "The Rugrats Movie (G)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  48. ^ Gates, Anita (November 20, 1998). "FILM REVIEW; A Sibling Takes a New Rival for a Ride". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  49. ^ Jeffries, Neil (January 1, 2000). "The Rugrats Movie Review". Empire. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  50. ^ a b Schwarzbaum, Lisa (November 27, 1998). "The Rugrats Movie (1998)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  51. ^ a b Burr, Ty (April 2, 1999). "The Rugrats Movie (1999)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  52. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "The Legacy of Rugrats with Paul Germain". YouTube. August 16, 2016.
  53. ^ Minow, Nell. "The Rugrats Movie". Common Sense Media. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
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